Faster Than A Bullet
by Snape's-Mystic-Raven
Summary: Kurt finds himself in a precarious situation as a troubled teen goes on a shooting spree throughout McKinley High. Warnings: Touchy subject matter, Major Character Death, and Injuries are involved in this story, as well as it being a Slash story.


**DISCLAIMER:**** I no own Glee or any of the characters used in this story except for Robert Matthews. **

**!WARNINGS!:**** **This story was inspired off of the song "****_Pumped Up Kicks_" by Foster The People and therefore **contains talk of a school shooting. It is not intended to hurt anyone's feelings or make light of such a situation happening. There is also Major Character Death and injuries in this story. This is a slash story...If you think any of the things above may bother you, please don't read.**

**Faster Than A Bullet**

_**Robert's got a quick hand.**_

_**He'll look around the room, he won't tell you his plan.**_

_**He's got a rolled cigarette, hanging out his mouth he's a cowboy kid.  
><strong>_

"So if you take that number and divide it by the..."

Robert Matthews looked around the room as his teacher's voice drifted off into the distance. All these kids had no idea what was about to happen. They were all sitting around to busy texting each other and making goo-goo eyes to notice him.

To busy to notice that he wasn't his usual self.

That he wasn't cracking jokes.

Wasn't throwing spitballs at Jacob Ben Israel.

Wasn't making lewd mouth gestures at Tiffany Chambers.

No. He was done with that.

Had been for weeks now and no one, not a damn one, had noticed.

He thought these people, his peers, would have at least seen that he wasn't Robert anymore. His clothes were dirty and mussed all the time now, in comparison to how clean and new they had looked before.

His skin was pale and dull. Instead of that healthy tan color it had been during the previous months. Bruises fading from where his father had taken out his anger on him.

No one had noticed that either.

The black eyes. The fingerprint shaped marks on his wrists that peeked out from under his shirt sleeves. The small scar he had going down his cheek. Wasn't he supposed to count on them for that kind of shit. All the movies showed caring teachers and peers that would tell you everything is gonna be all right. That things would get better.

Where were his sympathetic peers. His every-thing's-gonna-be-alright moment.

He looked around the room slowly and glared at every single one of them individually. He had waited for weeks. Given them time to maybe show that they had noticed, that they did care, that he wasn't alone, just like in the movies.

Not a single one had even really given him a glance.

They didn't care.

So now...now they were all going to pay.

Glancing at the clock he saw that there was maybe a half hour till lunch. Now was as good a time as any, he thought.

Reaching into his pocket for his smokes and lighter, he tapped the carton against the desk top, pulled out a cigarette and placed it in his mouth.

Then he picked up his book bag up from the floor and unzipped one of the compartments. Reaching inside, he pulled out his father's nine millimeter gun and stuck it in his hoodie's front pocket. He then grabbed the two extra clips he had brought with him. Each holding about 15 rounds in them. Including the clip already set in the gun, that was forty-four bullets for fun and one left for him.

He glanced around once more, this time to see if anyone had spotted the guns. Everyone was still so engrossed in themselves to notice.

Taking his lighter in his hand, he flicked the fire and lit up his cigarette. Taking a long drag before blowing the smoke up in the air and towards the front of the class.

His teacher called his name. Asking him what he thought he was doing by smoking in _His _classroom. Robert laughs a little, the smile staying on his lips as he looks up at the rotund teacher.

He'd show him who's classroom it really was.

_**Yeah he found a six shooter gun.  
>In his dads closet hidden in a box of fun things, and I don't even know what.<strong>_

_**But he's coming for you, yeah he's coming for you.**_

The last thing Kurt remembered before ducking into an empty classroom with three others was the five quick gunshots sounding through the air of McKinley High and the screams.

He had been walking down the hallway to his locker, planning on ducking out early to go catch a sale at the Mall, when he had heard the shots. He turned towards the sounds. Curious faces of both teachers and students peeked out the classrooms nearest him and he was glad that he had not imagined the bangs. Their eyes, along with his, held the same amount of shock when screams filled the air.

The screams grew closer and the pounding of footsteps seemed to make the very ground shake.

His chest constricted painfully and his eyes widened in fear as teens spilled out from the hallway connected to the one he was in. Frightened faces were filled with tears as they scrambled to escape something, someone. It was like the stampede's you would see in the movies or on those documentary shows.

They ran past Kurt, not paying him any heed and ended up pushing him into his locker. At the end of the hall a frightened Azimio cried out, _"He's got a gun!"_

It was the last thing he said as a shot rang out and blood sprayed across the wall opposite him. His body falling to the floor.

The teachers ushered their students out of rooms quickly before following themselves.

Kurt stood frozen, back against the lockers, as dozens of kids rushed past him. Some knocking others out of the way as they tried to get to safety.

A sob close to him grabbed his attention and he looked down. A young girl, probably a freshman, had fallen to the floor after being pushed by some of the larger students. He moved quickly and helped the girl to her feet. He held her for a moment before another shot rang out and another student fell. Kurt didn't waste any more time and yanked her into a recently vacated classroom.

Two other students, a boy and girl, followed him. All of them huddled as best they could behind the missing teachers desk. They all flinched as three more shots rang out and a booming voice shouted, _"Come out, come out wherever you are!"_

The young girl who had fallen was in his arms and shaking uncontrollably. She hid her face in his chest and cried into his Marc Jacobs jacket. And for once in his life, Kurt could care less about his clothes as he clutched her impossibly close to his chest.

_**All the other kids with the pumped up kicks  
>You better run, better run, outrun my gun…<br>All the other kids with the pumped up kicks,  
>You better run, better run, faster than my bullet.<strong>_

Noah was in the Glee room strumming on his guitar. Trying to come up with a number for the next meeting when he first heard the pops. He paused and looked over towards the double doors.

Blurs rushing past the glass was all he saw.

Putting his main girl down, he got up and rushed over, opening the doors with a hard yank.

Kids were streaking by as fast as they could, like a werewolf was nipping at their heels. They were crying, frightened, and some were even covered in blood. His eyes almost bugged out of his skull as he watched everyone move towards the front of the school.

Through the mess of faces he spotted Finn rush past him holding tightly onto Mercedes and Quinn's hands, a large spot of blood staining his shoulder. The girls' faces were terrified and streaked with tears.

"Finn!" Noah screamed over the cries of the crowd and jumped into the air. Trying to get the tall teen to see him, "Finn! Dude!"

Finn paused in his haste and looked over, face pale and tight with pain, "Puck! Get the fuck out of the school. Some kid's got a gun!"

Mike, Tina, and Artie appeared as another wave of students headed for the double doors. "Move it!" Mike screamed, as he wheeled Artie past them. Tina and her tear stained face following quickly behind them.

"What! Where are the others?" Puck asked quickly. Panic settled in the pit of his stomach as he thought about the other Gleeks.

About one Gleek in particular.

"No clue man, but we need to get out of here!" Finn shouted over the screaming.

Mercedes tear stained face caught his, "Kurt was...skipping...locker...Kurt could be...he could have gotten..." Her sentence was cut off as more pops sounded through the air and Finn pulled her and Quinn off down the hallway.

Puck's heart stopped in his chest at her words and he looked down the corridor.

He moved out of the safety of the door frame and into the throng of students. He felt like salmon moving against the current, trying his damnedest to get to the back of the school where Kurt's locker was.

_Kurt, you better be okay. _

The young man was Noah's only thought as he ran into the vacated hallways of McKinley High.

_**All the other kids with the pumped up kicks  
>You better run, better run, outrun my gun…<br>All the other kids with the pumped up kicks,  
>You better run, better run, faster than my bullet.<strong>_

"Come out, come out wherever you are!" Robert shouted with a smile on his face.

The first real smile he had had since he doesn't even know when, but he knows it feels good.

Knows that when he saw the bullets tear through his teacher, through Tiffany, and countless others that it felt like relief. Some of the kids had deserved it more than others.

Like that cheerleader bitch, Santana and the Berry broad with the superiority complex. It had been sweet watching them scream out in pain as he had shot each of them in the chest.

He had caught sight of the Quarterback and some black chick coming out of the Janitor's closet after he chased down some fleeing cheerleaders. He pointed, aimed, and fired. Hudson had pushed the girl out of the way and was nicked in the shoulder. Blood spreading out quickly into the sleeve of the teen's Polo.

Anger roiled through him and he took aim again. That time though, Hudson had grabbed the girl's hand, dragging her off with the other students.

Damn Quarterback! He took away his fucking perfect score!

He let out a growl of frustration and aimed at some other random teens. Hitting one in the leg and another in the arm.

Leg wound had fallen and backed herself up against a row of lockers, crying hysterically and clutching her leg. The girl was wearing a Cheerios uniform and had blond hair pulled up in a ponytail. He recognized her as the blond chick who hung out with that Latin bitch all the time. What was her name, Bethany, Brittany, Becky...didn't matter now anyways. As he neared her she whimpered and closed her eyes, pressing herself up as close as she could to the lockers. Her fear made him smile and feeling a bit generous, he bypassed her and continued on down the hallway at a leisurely pace.

He checked bathrooms, closets, and classrooms for anyone hiding out.

He had found two teachers that way. The man had had curly sponge like brown hair and the other had been a woman with short red hair and big brown eyes. Both had tried to talk to him and both had received a bullet. He left them in the office he had found them in and kept on moving.

He was about to go inside the girl's bathroom when he heard a faint crying coming from his right. Quietly he walked over to the door of an abandoned classroom and heard someone sobbing.

He smiled.

Mentally adding another tally to the count.

_**But he's coming for you, yeah he's coming for you**_

Kurt's eyes widened in fear as he heard the classroom door open and then close. The click of the door seeming way too loud in the quiet of the room. Footsteps sounded across the tiled floor slowly before stopping altogether.

"I know you're here."

The young girl in his arms trembled and slowly managed to stifle her sobs, clutching closer to Kurt's chest, burying her face in his shirt. Kurt stroked her hair soothingly and looked at the two other students scared faces. He knew the same look of fear was showing on his face.

None of them dared to breathe as the boy spoke again, "Come on now. I promise I'll make it quick. Just make it easy on yourself."

Kurt blinked. The words echoed through his head.

_Just make it easy on yourself._

_Yourself..._

The shooter thought that there was only one person here.

He looked towards the others to see if they had noticed the phrasing but the fear in their eyes told them that they hadn't.

Making a snap decision and cursing himself for it Kurt shushed the others and moved the trembling girl from his arms and into the waiting arms of the other girl. He took some deep breathes and stood.

"Well, you found me. Proud of yourself?" He stated as casually as he could while straightening his jacket and casually flipping some hair out of his eyes.

They stared at each other for a second before Kurt cocked his hip and crossed his arms, faking nonchalance.

The boy who stood in front of him looked familiar, but didn't register in Kurt's brain as anyone he came into regular contact with. He had dirty blond hair in desperate need of a thorough conditioning, clothes that looked like they had seen better days, and haunted-hateful brown eyes that sent a chill down Kurt's spine.

The smile that had been on the boy's face before dropped a little at Kurt's words.

"Cocky little shit aren't you." The boy's arm raised, gun pointing at Kurt's chest.

Fear and panic began to stir in the fashionable teen but he schooled his features to remain impassive. Scoffing, he rolled his eyes, "Not cocky, just annoyed is all. I thought you said you'd make this quick."

The other teen looked surprised for a minute and lowered the gun slightly, "You actually want to get shot?"

Kurt shrugged, "At least I'll know it's coming. Considering everything else I've been through, this will be the best way for me to go."

Kurt moved out from behind the desk, gracefully avoiding contact with the three other teens on the floor, standing just between the gun toting teen and the desk where the others were huddled behind. When he did get shot he didn't want the other three, especially that young girl, to see him.

"You've thought about your own death?"

"Of course I have. Quite a bit after my mother died when I was younger and especially after I came out."

"Came out?" Brown eyebrows drew together in confusion before shooting up in surprise, "Wait. You're that gay kid. The one who was on the football team."

Kurt gave the boy his iciest glare, "Yes. I am 'that gay kid'. I am 'that gay kid' who is currently waiting for the token-depressed-only-my-life-is-horrible-gun-toting-psycho to grow a pair and get it over with and just shoot me already."

"What's your problem?"

"You're my problem."

"That seems to be the running consensus." Robert stated angrily, "My Parents thought so, my teachers, my '_friends_', even my ex. I was the problem. I'm always the _**fucking**_ problem."

"Oh woe is you!" Kurt shouted angrily, "Your life is no worse off than the rest of us. Everyone has had problems with friends and family."

"You don't know what I've been through! You don't know anything!"

Kurt wanted to smack himself for pushing the disturbed teen even farther. _Oh well,_ Kurt thought, _in for a penny in for a pound_. "Well why don't you tell me then. I want to know why I'm going to die. Since I doubt you're shooting up the school just to get a shot at taking out the resident fag."

Robert growled, "You don't understand!" He grabbed his hair with his left hand and tugged at it, "You don't know what my life is like!"

"Then tell me!" Kurt yelled, "Make me understand why you did this." Even though he knew there was no way he would ever understand this boy's choice to shoot up a school full of innocent people. Kurt had been slushied and bullied everyday of his high-school life, hell, his whole life and had never entertained the thought of shooting up the mall.

"I don't even know where to start."

"How about your name?" Kurt stated, "If you tell me nothing else at least tell me that."

A tired voice stated, "Robert."

"I'm Kurt. It's a pleasure to meet you Robert." The sarcastic tone of his voice didn't go unnoticed if the narrowed eyes were anything to go by, "Now," Kurt paused and let his arms drop to his side, "if you'd be so kind as to tell me why?"

Robert took a deep breath and closed his eyes, "He beats me. That bastard has been beating me for months and she just sits by and watches."

Robert opened his eyes and had Kurt staring into the tortured brown eyes of a lost teen.

"Ever since he got laid off from his nice, cushy desk job, he's been beating on me. Blaming me. My mother...she just stands there and watches. Doesn't lift a damn finger. Sometimes he beats me so brutally that when I wake up on the floor, I can't even remember how I got there until I feel the aches and stiffness in my bones."

"Why...didn't you tell anyone? Your friends, the teachers, the police? Why didn't you speak up, you could have gotten help."

Robert laughed humorlessly, "Of course I called the police. They didn't do a damn thing. When they asked my dad about the accusations he laughed it off and told them that we had just gotten into a shouting match. He told them that the bruising was from me rough housing with some friends. When the cops questioned my mom, should stood behind my dad, telling them the same story. All the cops did for me was jack shit. Same as my teachers when I walked into the fucking school with a gash running down my cheek."

Robert pointed harshly at the scar running along his right cheek, making his point hit home. Kurt was at such a loss for words all he could do was stare silently at the broken teen. "I thought maybe my friends would help me. Notice something was off, but nothing. Not one of 'em noticed."

Silence reigned in the room for a minute before the blare of sirens and red and blue lights of police cruisers shone through the windows.

"No one noticed because no one cares."

Movement over by the door caught Kurt's attention, sparking some hope in the young man's chest.

Someone was outside the classroom.

Help was here.

He didn't know if it was the police but at this point he really didn't care. He just needed some time. Then maybe whoever it was could do something.

Kurt quickly focused back on Robert, as best as he could, before the other teen noticed that his attention had been on the door behind him. "I'm sorry. I truly am. No one. Absolutely no one should have to go through that, but what you've done here...what that man did to you, it gives you no right to do this. To take this route. There is always another option."

"Well it doesn't matter now does it. I've already gone down the deep end and it seems that now, " he pointed outside with the gun and towards the police outside, "it seems I'm out of time."

Kurt's eyes widened and he shook his head back and forth as Robert raised his arm and took aim.

Right at Kurt.

A bear-like growl of fury filled the room as a lone shot rang out.

Kurt felt nothing as he fell into black.

_**You better run, better run, outrun my gun…**_

Puck made quick work of moving down the hallway towards where Kurt's locker was located, considering everyone had vacated the school.

He was at the mouth of the corridor where Kurt's locker was housed and decided to peek around it to make sure the coast was clear. He saw someone moving slowly, holding onto the lockers for support and Puck recognized the girl immediately.

Running over, he took a hold of Brittany's arm and placed it over his shoulder.

"Brittany. Holy Fuck!" He whispered harshly.

"Hey Puckzilla." She attempted a smile but it was laced with pain.

Looking across the way, Puck saw the girl's room and quickly moved her into it. He helped her hop up onto the sink and lifted her injured leg to rest on the counter top. There was a bullet wound just under her knee that was still oozing blood.

He grabbed some napkins and ran them under the faucet. "Clean up around the wound some, Britt."

While she did that, Puck loosened his belt and took it off. He wrapped the leather strip tight around Brittany's thigh, just above her knee, trying to slow the blood flow. The cheerleader leaned her head back against the corner, where the mirror met the wall. Black streaks from her mascara made a trail down her face and she winced as Puck pulled the leather taught.

"Thanks Puck."

"You good, Britt?"

"Yeah."

"Good. Stay here and keep your leg up."

"Puck? Wait, where are you going?" Brittany reached out for him as he moved to the door.

Puck glanced out to make sure the coast was still clear. "I have to go. I have to find our dolphin."

Brittany's blue eyes widened, "Kurtie? Where is he? Is he okay?"

Puck winked at the blond, "I don't know, but I have to find him. Don't worry, Britt. He's probably fine. He's a tough kid." With those last words, he left the cheerleader to wait it out safely in the bathroom.

After he left the restroom, Puck started to move down the hallway when voices drifted out of the classroom right across the way. Creeping up to the door, Puck peeked inside through the glass and saw his boy standing in front of another student. They looked like they were having a casual conversation until the other kid moved his hand up and pointed outside.

In his hand was a gun.

Puck felt two things course through his body: Fear and Rage.

Both felt just for the simple fact that it was Kurt who this was happening too.

If this had been anyone of the other Gleeks, Puck knew he probably wouldn't have even chanced a shot to get to them.

Puck grabbed the handle of the door and slowly pushed it open, praying that it didn't squeak.

No that it would have mattered in the end because when Puck opened the door he was just in time to see the other boy raise his arm and point the gun at Kurt.

"_It seems I'm out of time."_

When the barrel of that gun was aimed right at Kurt and those words were uttered, Puck let out a guttural sound of fury, not aware of anything, except the undeniable need to take out the threat to his boy.

Using all his football prowess, Puck tackled the other teen to the floor, the attack from behind surprising the teen enough that he accidentally squeezed the trigger as he fell forward. The bullet whizzed right at Kurt and he fell back, landing on top of the desk behind him.

The kid struggled helplessly underneath Puck, but the jock was much stronger and kept him pinned. When Puck caught sight of Kurt, silent and unmoving on the desk, Puck flipped the teen under him over with ease and started to wail on him mercilessly.

The other boy raised his arms in self-defense, but it was no use. Puck's mind was only on one thing and that was to inflict the most damage he could in the short amount he knew he would have. He had seen the police cruisers outside and knew they would be searching the school for the shooter. They probably weren't too far off either, so he had to make this count because if Kurt was gone, so was Puck's world.

Voices and crying sounded in the background a moment later while Puck continued his vicious assault on the no unresponsive boy under him. It was seconds later that Puck was being hauled off the body under him and pinned to the floor. Cuffs clanked around his wrists and Puck cursed and shouted in fury, while the officer's who pulled him away were shouting at him to calm down.

Puck heard the officers talking on their radios about the perpetrator being neutralized and to send E.M.T.'s and a couple stretchers. The jock looked up and saw a black haired girl leaning over Kurt, moving her hand over his head.

Two other students were yelling at the officer standing near Puck and gesturing to him, "He's not the guy!" "Why's he in handcuffs? He saved us!"

"I'll uncuff him when he calms down a little. I'm not arresting him unless he gives me a reason."

Puck looked from the trio to the girl standing next to Kurt, "Please...is he okay?" Puck questioned desperately from the floor.

The girl turned to him, tears in her eyes and a smile of relief on her face, "There's a lot of blood, but I think he was just grazed."

His heartbeat gradually turned to normal after the adrenaline high and Puck closed his eyes, setting his forehead on the cool tile, "Thank You, God."

"You calm now?" A gruff voice asked from above.

"Yes Sir." Puck said relieved.

The officer leaned down and released the cuffs from around Puck's wrists. As he came back to himself, the haze of what he had done filtered through his mind and he didn't regret a single punch thrown. Rolling onto his back, he looked up at the officer, "There's a girl named Brittany in the bathroom. She's been shot in the leg."

The officer nodded and radioed for more stretchers. Puck rubbed a hand over his eyes before getting to his feet and making his way over to Kurt's prone form.

He moved the girl out of the way with his body and took up her position. Running his hand over Kurt's face and let it just float over the wound on his head.

E.M.T.'s rushed into the room then and one headed over to the boy on the floor, who was unconscious from the beating he had received and the other moved towards Kurt.

The female technician checked Kurt's pulse and then his head. "Looks like it just grazed his temple. Another inch to the left and I can't say that I'd be saying the same. Look's like he's just fainted from the trauma and shock of everything. How's the other kid doing Tom?"

"He's got a faint heartbeat and is bleeding out of most of his orifices, but he'll survive. That kid really did a number on him."

Puck's eyes followed all the movements of the female paramedic as she cleaned up Kurt's wound. Once the blood was wiped off, Puck could see the cut on his temple was pretty shallow and could have come from being pushed into the lockers by some jock.

"When's he gonna wake up?"

The woman looked at him and smiled, waving a small glass bottle, "That's what the smelling salts are for. It'll only be a minute, then you can hug your boyfriend."

"He's not my boyfriend." Puck blushed.

"Fine. Then you can hug your soon-to-be boyfriend."

"How do you know I even-"

She cut him off with, "The way you pounded that kid into ground meat might have clued me."

Puck watched with hopeful eyes as the woman ran the clear bottle underneath Kurt's nose. After a moment he jerked awake, then groaned in protest and raise his hand to the bit of gauze taped over the cut on his head.

Kurt blinked his eyes a few times before focusing them on the deep green eyes of the woman leaning over him. Confused, Kurt asked, "I thought I'd see my mom when I died. Who are you?"

"My name's Lydia and you are one lucky teen."

"What?" Kurt asked dumbly.

"You were involved in a shooting Mr..."

"Kurt. His name is Kurt." Puck supplied.

Kurt's gray eyes darted over and widened in surprise, "Puck? What are you doing here?"

Puck opened and closed his mouth a few times before Lydia came to his rescue. "Like I was saying, Kurt you were involved in a shooting. The bullet just grazed your temple. How do you feel? Are you okay to sit up?"

Kurt nodded, his eyes staying on Puck's face, the jock's eyes looking everywhere but at Kurt. Lydia moved from in front of him to the side, one hand was placed under his elbow and the other moved towards his shoulder, but Puck beat her to it. Helping the younger teen sit up slowly.

Kurt groaned at the movement and closed his eyes to stop the sudden dizziness. "What's wrong? Did we move you too fast? Shit, I'm sorry man I did-"

Kurt quickly placed a finger over the boy's lips and then moved his other hand to his forehead, "Puck, please, quiet for one minute."

Kurt's eyes scanned the room and saw the young girl he had been holding under the desk and the other two students talking to the police officers in the room. The girl's eyes darting back to his every so often. Then he caught a glance of a body lying on the the floor while a paramedic carefully placed a neck brace on him.

"What happened to him?"

"Your...friend beat him to a pulp is what happened."

Kurt looked to Puck, the mo-hawked teen just shrugged , "I didn't have a slushy."

Kurt let out an involuntary giggle-snort and Puck smiled, happy that he had been able to make the younger man laugh. Lydia moved away from him to help Tom put Robert's prone form onto the stretcher. Kurt's eyes took in the sight and gray eyes widened at all the blood. The other teen's face was bleeding from everywhere it seemed and bruised from the force of Puck's fists. They wheeled him out of the room and down the hall out of sight. He was handcuffed to the stretcher just in case.

"Oh my..." Kurt whispered.

"He'll pull through. Don't know if you care or not considering the circumstances. Your friend, luckily, didn't beat him to death." Lydia said as she walked back to Kurt and Puck.

"If I see him again I might." Puck growled.

Lydia frowned, "That wouldn't help matters Mr. Puck." She turned towards Kurt, "Now, let's get you up on that stretcher and-"

"Please, I don't want to go out on the gurney. If I do my dad will just have another heart attack and I can't handle that."

A little smile playing on the woman's lips,"Alright, even though I should force you to use the stretcher, I'll let it pass this time."

"Excuse me?" The timid voice interrupted, "Is it okay if we...?" The young black haired girl from before gestured to Kurt, behind her stood the two other students that had been huddled behind the desk.

"Who're you?" Asked Puck.

"Hi...um, I'm Jessica. This is Noel and Gage. We ran into the room too. Well, Noel and Gage did, Kurt pulled me inside after I was practically trampled in the hall." Jessica stated.

The other girl, Noel, was slim and had straight bright red hair and blue eyes. The boy, Gage, was short and stocky with green eyes and a crooked nose. All three sported looks of grateful anxiousness.

"Hello. Jessica. Noel. Gage." Kurt smiled and gave a little nod of his head towards each teen.

Puck sat on the desk right next to Kurt and slung his arm around the Soprano's shoulder and stated proudly,"That's my boy. Rescuin' damsels in distress."

A small tinge of pink colored Kurt's cheeks at the mention of being _Puck's boy_.

Jessica smiled, "We all just wanted to say thank you for what you did and...well, to ask you why?"

Kurt's brow furrowed, "Why...what?"

"Why'd you give yourself up like that?" Gage asked hurriedly.

"Give yourself up?" Puck questioned, more to himself than the others. His eyes locked on Kurt's face as he realized what this guy must have meant. If these kids were in the room with Kurt, then why hadn't they been standing with Kurt to face the gunman? The answer was simple and hit Puck like a ton of bricks...Kurt had gone to face the executioner all on his own and that...seriously pissed Puck off.

"You gave yourself up?" Puck shouted, moving from the desk to stand in front of Kurt. Puck towered over the smaller teen sitting atop the desk. "Why the fuck would you do that?"

Kurt's face reddened in anger when Puck screamed at him, "He thought there was only one person in here."

"So you decided you'd just volunteer!"

"Yes. What does it matter anyways? I'm okay and they're okay."

"It fucking matters Kurt! What if you hadn't gotten the guy to talk? Huh? What if he had just shot you point blank? What then? Did you think of anyone else when you stood up to face down some loony on your own? Your dad? The other Gleeks? _Me?_ Did we even cross your mind?"

"One death is better than four! Dammit Puck, what was I supposed to do?"

"You were supposed to sit tight and wait for me to show the fuck up!"

"You to show up?..." Kurt questioned, "Wait, why would you show up?"

Puck's eyes bugged a little as he realized what he had said and Kurt stood from the desk, getting right up in Puck's personal space. "Puck? Why were you still in the school?"

The jock's jaw tensed as Kurt went on, "You have a free period before lunch and you're usually in the rehearsal room doing God knows what until then. If I'm not mistaken that room is located nearest the front of the school. How come you ran in the opposite direction?"

The chatter that had been going on in the background seemed to cease and it felt like everyone's eyes were on him. Looking up, Puck was a little put-off to see that, in fact, everyone who was still in the room did have their eyes locked on the two boy's confrontation.

Groaning in defeat, Puck looked down into the gray doe-like eyes and muttered, "_What the hell,"_ under his breath, before grabbing Kurt by the waist and smashing his lips onto those of the shorter fashionista. Pouring everything he felt for the smaller male into the kiss.

Kurt 'eeped' when he was pulled against the tall jock's muscular body and his mouth was taken in a fierce kiss. His hands grabbed onto Puck's biceps and his eyes closed after a moment, losing himself in the skillful lips. Puck's kiss started out fierce and desperate, but after a second or two it turned to slow and passionate. Kurt felt the tip of Puck's tongue brush along the seam of his lips and he hesitantly opened his mouth. As Puck tugged Kurt in closer to his body and took possession of the small male's mouth, Puck knew without a doubt that the boy in his arms was made to be his.

"Yay!"

Puck and Kurt broke apart at the shout and turned towards the door to see Brittany's face peer at them from the doorway. She was lying down on the gurney and had a huge smile on her face, despite the pain she had to be in. "Does this mean that now you're a dolphin instead of a shark Puck?"

Still holding onto Kurt, Puck smirked at the blond, "I'm still a sex shark Britt, but now I'm a sex shark for one."

Kurt rolled his eyes at the remark as Puck pulled him back in for another kiss.

_**And say your hair's on fire, you must have lost your wits, **_

_**yeah.**_

In the end, fifteen people had been killed and ten others had been wounded. Among the deceased was Santana Lopez, Rachel Berry, Jacob Ben Israel, Azimio Adams, Mr. Schuester, and Ms. Pillsbury. Those were just the people Kurt knew by name. Six other students, two teachers, and the janitor had been found throughout the officers walk through of the school.

Mike, Tina, Artie, Mercedes, and Quinn had all escaped unscathed.

The bullet in Finn's shoulder had gone through his Rotator cuff and the Quarterback would have to be in a sling for at least a month. When the Jones' had learned that Hudson had saved their baby girl he was welcomed into the family like a son. Which, if the way he looked at Mercedes was anything to go by, would be happening probably after high school.

Brittany had suffered a fractured Tibia and was put in a cast for a few weeks. Her heart had suffered far worse when she had been told that her best friend had been killed. The cheerleader hadn't stopped crying for days.

Kurt had been tackled by Burt the minute he had stepped outside the double doors of McKinley and had never been let out of the older man's sight once since then. When Kurt refused to talk about it, Burt had played dirty and asked that Puckerman kid who had started loitering outside their house after the shooting. When Puck had told him that Kurt meant to sacrifice himself Burt's emotions had been torn three ways from Sunday. He was over the moon that his boy was in one piece, but he was madder than hell that Kurt had been the one to face the crazy teen on his own. Then there was the pride he felt for exactly that same reason. The fact that even though his boy had been through hell and back before the shooting, he had been willing to give up his own life to save three others.

After the police found out the identity of the shooter, they went to his house to tell his parents what he had done. All they found however, was just another crime scene, just as violent looking as the school had been.

The trial for Robert Matthews took place a little bit after the memorial ceremony for the lost souls he had killed. Robert still had bruises and scarring on his face from Puck as he sat emotionless in his seat behind the defense desk. His lawyers and him had stated declared he was 'Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity'. They argued the beatings and stress his father had placed upon him had taken it's toll and he had just snapped, not being in his right mind or aware of what he had been doing. Kurt had been called as a witness to testify for the Defense and did so with an air of sadness as he recounted what Robert had told him within their minutes together. When the Prosecutors questioned Kurt as to whether he thought Robert was insane, Kurt simply shook his head and stated that he had known what he was doing and had thought it the best possible solution to his problem. Killing his parents, students who he had a grudge against, and then himself.

Subsequently, Robert had been found Guilty and sentenced to Life in prison without the possibility of parole. Many parents of the deceased had asked he be given the Death Penalty, but the judge denied it.

A year later found McKinley High getting back to a semi-state of normalcy. Students laughed and joked in the hallways again and all the extracurricular activities had started back up again.

A case in the hallway, once used for trophies, had been cleared out and pictures of all the students involved in the shooting were placed inside. Notes, cards, and dried up, dead flowers from loved ones and friends were pinned up next to their pictures.

Kurt stood, staring at the smiling picture of Rachel Berry and touching the small scar on his forehead as students passed by him. Only a handful stopped to look sadly at the pictures or pin more notes of love and loss to the wall. The year had seemed to pass by in a blur and Kurt wondered silently if he'd ever feel like anything was normal or safe again, like most of his peers seemed to be doing.

As people drifted away, leaving Kurt alone in the hallway, a lone figure walked up and stood next to him. Kurt didn't need to turn his head to know that his boyfriend had found him.

They stood together silently, just looking at the pictures. Some minutes ticked by before Puck's calloused hand twined with Kurt's much softer one. Puck moved their bound hands to his lips and kissed Kurt's knuckles, "Come on babe, time for lunch."

Kurt nodded and let his boyfriend pull him along down the hallway. Glancing down at their entwined fingers, Kurt didn't know how long it would take, but knew that if he was with Noah, normal and safe weren't that far away.

**A/N:**** I know this might be a sore subject matter for anyone who has gone through this and I am sorry if it offends, but after listening to the song I couldn't stop myself from writing this. Also, I realize that there are probably a few grammatical errors and for this I apologize, but I use Open Office as my writing program and it doesn't catch everything. Nor do my eyes after hours of revising. :)  
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**As always, reviews welcomed, but not mandatory.**


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